Ypsilanti Community Schools Associate Superintendent Laura Lisiscki is being offered a one-year superintendent contract by the district, following a Board of Education meeting Monday night.

Superintendent Scott Menzel is stepping down from his leadership position with the district June 30 and is returning his full time to his other job as superintendent of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.

The school board is negotiating a contract with Lisiscki for next year.

Lisiscki, the former superintendent of Willow Run Community Schools, has been running most of the day-to-day operations of YCS as Menzel has divided his attention between the two roles.

Lisiscki said she doesn't anticipate her workload changing much next year as superintendent.

As YCS prepares to move into its second year of existence, Lisiscki said she's looking to move the district forward on the vision that's been established for the district: a first-choice district that offers cradle to career education.

Major efforts in "YCS 2.0" will focus on curriculum-based improvements and alignments with Common Core standards, Lisiscki said. The district will continue to work with its post-secondary partners—including Washtenaw Community College—to offer middle college options.

Next school year the district will also pilot a balanced calendar program at Holmes Elementary School.

Lisiscki acknowledged that the district still has work to do to focus on cultural proficiency and to implement restorative practices with fidelity.

“We’ve had a lot of successes but we still have a long way to go,” Lisiscki said in an interview with The Ann Arbor News. “We need everyone to understand that this work has not been easy. We wouldn’t have been able to get everything done without everyone working together. … There have been some issues and we haven’t been blind towards those issues. … There are so many procedures and policies and protocols that needed to be put in place. No matter what we did when we did it, we had to start brand new.”

Menzel recommended that the school board pursue a one-year superintendent because all seven members of the board are up for re-election in November.

Once the new board is seated they'll be able to determine a long-term superintendent solution. Lisiscki said it's too early to speculate on her role in that process.